Profile

kseenaa: (Default)
KSena

July 2018

S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22 232425262728
2930 31    

This is KSena

Usually a friendly sort. Be nice to me, and I am nice to you. Here I ramble on about me, life, work and fandoms. I am a fan of Robin of Sherwood, Xena: Warrior Princess, Buffy: the Vampire Slayer, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tokio Hotel and Sons of Anarchy. I don't apologize for anything I write here. This is my mind. And you entered it. Welcome.

Visits:
free hit counter
And onwards, I should probably say. Because it’s not like I’ll stop doing either of those things. :-)

Here goes…

I do track the books I’ve read on Goodreads.Com, so you can always track me there if you’d like. And if you want to see my year in books the way they’d tracked it, you can do so here: KSena’s Year in Books 2017.

I only read 12 books and graphic novels. But I’m a slow reader that usually feel too stressed to read, so that would be the reason why there. I have, however, started to listen to audiobooks, which makes me feel less stressed. I can listen to audiobooks when I’m on the bus or when I do dishes or vacuum or whatever.

And there I’ve punctured the myth of librarians reading a ton of books… *LOL* I, obviously, don’t. :-)

These are the books I’ve read (link to my review in the title):

  • Making the rounds with Oscar - about a cat in an elderly home that can sense when a patient is about to die… and the doctor that tries to figure out why that is. REALLY interesting, even if you’re not a cat-person.


  • Endometrios: Mensvärken från helvetet - a swedish book about how it is to live with Endomatriosis and how you can tackle doctors and nurses and tips and ideas for those living with endo-sufferers and just… a lot of really good info. This book needs to be translated to english stat.


  • The story of my life - about the life of Helen Keller. I’ve always been curious about her since seeing a movie about her. And even though this was in her words and interesting, it was also… extremely dull here and there.


  • Street Cat Bob - also a story I’ve been curious at. Listened to this through an audiobook service here in Sweden, and it worked really well! A really good book, heart wrenching story! Seen the movie to!


  • Trump och vredens Amerika - some seriously effective finnish journalists who wrote a book about Trump and how he managed to get a hold of power the way he did. They also try to figure out how he ended up the man he is. It was VERY interesting and I like how they’d split up the book in various sections.


  • Monster - a biography by and about the biggest YouTube star in Sweden, Joakim ‘Jockiboi’ Lundell. And I was RAGING when I listened to this audiobook!!! I read it since I wanted to know what the deal was with this guy, and why the kids/teens at the school I work was all over him. The fangirling/fanboying over this guy is off the charts. And he puts both Edward from Twilight AND infamous Mr Grey to shame… My GAWD! What an absolutely HORRIBLE guy this man is! o.O Aptly named book...


  • Ibland mår jag inte så bra - a biography by and about the biggest female YouTube star in Sweden, Therese Lindgren. My expectations was way low when I started listening to this, and it turned out to be a really good book about mental health!


  • Kris vid trekaffet - about a retired couple and their daily lifes and how they deal with their children and grandchildren. Sounds dull? Not in this graphic novel! The dialogue is great, and the odd style in the drawings just match up. A lovely little gem.


  • När mammorna blev kära - a very easy to read book for 8-12 year old kids about two divorced mothers that fall in love with each other and how their daughters deal with it. A VERY important book! I read it once it had arrived to the library, and it was really good! It’s been read aloud in a few classes at the school, and the discussions have been both wild and civil. So important with LGBT+ books for ALL ages!!!


  • Spelet är spelet - a book I bought for the library since a teen at school (almost or nearly a hooligan…) wanted to read it. So I did to, or listened to the audiobook. It’s written by Leo Carmona and is heavily based on how he grew up, how he ended up a criminal extremely young and why and the issues that Sweden has today (we do, although not as bad as a certain president and his supporters claim…). This was good. VERY good. And very eye opening to me. I have a greater understanding for my hooligans after reading this. I don’t condone what they do or how they act, but I can understand why. Makes sense?


  • Hungerhuset - was just a LOVELY little horror graphic novel! The images was GORGEOUS! Detailed, sharp and black and white. Swedish comic-artists are SO GOOD at horror! Seriously! And this one was definitely one of those really good ones! Such a nice read!


  • Svinet - was seriously a feel-bad story (instead of a feel-good one). And Åsa Grennvall is SO GOOD at this! Especially at showing emotion in her characters faces. And it’s some scary emotions in this. A lot of mental illness among the female characters, and then there’s the man that is in the center of the story… Extremely abusive and manipulative man. I feel the most for his mother, in this story. Even if she is… not quite well or OK either. I don’t know why I like Grennvall’s stories, they are really horrid stories. But I do love them. For some reason.


So that’s what I’ve been reading this year. I know [personal profile] orangerful for example read more than that in a month. But I’m slow and I can’t really settle down and relax with a book. *shrug* Thank heavens for audiobooks. Goal for 2018? Read more than 12 books, so I can beat 2017 at least. :-)

I might take a leaf from [personal profile] orangerful and make a post as soon as I’ve read something? Don’t expect to see that to frequently though. ;-)

When I haven’t been reading I’ve been watching TV-shows and listened to podcasts.

Podcasts are really my new love! Seriously!

Mostly I listen to swedish podcasts through the app that Sveriges Radio has (Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster). They make a lot of good radio shows and they are ALL saved in their massive archive so you can listen to them whenever you want.

Brilliant says I. :-) So I listen to a few of my favorites.

  • Ligga med P3 - A pod/radio show about sex. Plain and simple. And they are do not sugarcoat anything. They talk about EVERYTHING!!!! :-D And they are great fun to listen to, not taking themselves seriously at all. A GREAT listen!


  • P3 Dokumentär - A pod/radio show that is like a documentary you see on TV. I mean, it’s SO well made! They put sounds to it as if it was a movie and they make sure to interview as many as possible…. And it’s just… so well made. The BEST pod/radio show that Sveriges Radio has to offer, according to me!


  • P3 Historia - I’m a history-nerd and this pod/radio show is ALL about history! They take a historic person or event and then they nerd out as much as possible about it/him/her during the show. It’s great! Really really good to listen to!


  • P3 Spel - This is about games to consoles and to computers. All the games all the time! It’s really good and the hosts are SO FUN to listen to! Any interests in games whatsoever, this is the one for you!


  • Radiosporten Dokumentär - I’m not into sports usually, so I don’t listen to all the episodes to this one, since this is the main sport-channel that Sveriges Radio has and this is their documentary show. But since I do LOVE documentaries, this pod/show is really good to, since there are quite a lot of sport personalities that are really interesting as well! So some of these documentaries are really good to!


  • Sommar & Vinter i P1 - This is a classic pod/show, especially during summer. P1 invites a certain number off more or less famous people to talk on air for 1½ hours about… whatever they want! And the person gets to choose the music to. During end of December and beginning of January they do the same thing. I don’t listen to all, only those that I find interesting as people. But it’s a good pod/show!


Then there’s my second favorite from Sveriges Radio:

  • USA podden - It started out as a podcast/radio show to report on the latest election in the USA. But since it got so popular and since Trump won and everyone here in Sweden wants to know what is going on… It has continued even after the election. The hosts doing this are experts on US-politics in one way or another and most have lived or do live in the USA their job being to report back to Sweden what is going on. So it’s very interesting to listen to.


Not a podcasts from Sveriges Radio, but there is another favorite I have, but it’s on hiatus right now for obvious reasons, and thats…

  • Tronspelet (meaning literary game of thrones) - These hosts watched the Game of Thrones episodes as soon as they could here in Sweden (long live HBO Nordic!), and then they sat down and discussed it, as many itty bitty details they could think about. And the sense of humour among these, my GOODNESS!! X-D They are HILARIOUS! And I so hope they’ll continue once Game of Thrones comes back with it’s last season!


There’s ONE english speaking podcast that I follow with regularity and that’s:

  • My Favorite Murder - I know, I know… A comedy show about murder? How does that even work, you ask? I can’t even describe it. It’s all about the hosts, Georgia and Karen. And the way they discuss and tell about the murders they’ve researched for each episode. It’s awesome. I’ve ALMOST listened to every single episode now from start. And I’m definitely a murderino (fan) by this point. :-D


I’ve listened to a couple of other podcasts as well, but just an episode here and there. Oh My Heck needs a mention (about how the mormon church works form an ex-mormon, in english), Död Mans Podd (school librarian doing a horror-pod), Spår (going into detail during several episodes about a swedish crime) and Mordpodden (similar to My Favorite Murder, but in swedish). I haven’t listened to all the episodes here, and I probably should. Maybe I will when I’m all caught up with My Favorite Murder? Who knows?

When it comes to TV-shows (and Netflix shows), there’s one pretty obvious one…

  • Game of Thrones - Oh my anything holy shit! That is ONE well made TV-show, that’s for sure! I have no words. To me, it just keeps getting better. Unfortunately I have to wait until 2019 to see the end of the whole thing. But man. What a STORY!!!! And no, I haven’t read the books. :-P


And there’s these that are worth a mention:

  • American Horror Story Hotel - I was hesitant since I get nightmares easily, but I saw a series of gifs with Lady Gaga and since I DO love vampires… Well, I watched this season, and it was REALLY good! Here someone have done their own take on the vampire-myth and they did it CLEVERLY. Really good!


  • Frontier - Totally blame Jason Momoa for this, but really. This show is so much more than him. That things were rough in North America when the europeans invaded, that I knew. And I bet they’re not far off with how harsh and gory it was here. The twists and turns makes my head spin sometimes, but overall, a great watch!


  • RuPaul’s Dragrace - Not much need be said. X-D This is my guilty pleasure. And when I’ve felt really low, this show has picked me right up!


I love documentaries and true crime, can you tell, so…

  • Making a murderer - how a crime can grow into an avalanche that is unstoppable… even if the convicted is innocent to start. This was really interesting. US? There’s some really fucked up things going on in your justice system. *shakes head*


  • Killer couples - A british show that tells the stories about couples that murder together… and it tries to figure out why and how and so on. Really interesting!


  • The Keepers - Just started this, and oh my world! It’s SO GOOD! Catholic priests school girls and choir boys, I tell you…. *shakes head* About the murder of the nun Sister Cathy, and it’s so good. So horrible and so good, I can not get enough. I am sure I’ll return to this in a post once I’ve finished it. :-)


Right, so… That was my lists! Kudos if you managed to read all that. :-) I’m sure there’s trailers and info all over the internet for all these, but I’m sure you all know how to use Google to find out more. ;-)

I’ve seen the Snowflake Challenge here and there on my friends journals, and I admit that I’m considering joining in.

Shorter posts then, I’m sure, but just to get back into the habit. :-)

This entry is cross posted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.
Work has been... hectic lately to put it mildly. I've probably said this before, but if someone comes over to me to say that it seems so calm to work in a library, I will punch them in the face. Seriously.

The school has started and with that the crazy planning for this term. When all the teachers wants to talk to me at the same time. And I'm supposed to book things with all the teachers to make sure I'll have time to visit all the classes I'm supposed to visit this term. Meaning, the sooner I start the better, but the teachers just wants me to wait and wait and wait... leaving me very little time. And will make the end of the school-term stressful as fuck. :-P

Fun times there, in other words.

On the other hand, I do like working at this school. Weird as that might sound. I like the kids and teens that come from so many different cultures. I like challanging them with LGBT picturebooks and books, considering what many gets feed regarding that at home. I like discussing with them a lot. I learn a lot. And I hope they learn something from me to. And the teachers and staff at that school is OUT OF THIS WORLD! So hard working and SO CARING! Not to mention a lot of fun to. :-D

I've been at a drinking party with these teachers... It was one of the more insane drinking parties I've been at. X-D

So even though I whine and tear my hairs out sometimes over both kids/teens at the school AND the teachers... I still love working there. :-) Funny, isn't it?

And in the end, I usually get my schedule to work out anyway. :-)

So there's that.

And my kiddo she's turned into quite the little horse girl! She goes to riding school now, every Saturday morning at 9:15 we have to be there and the class starts at 9:30. A pretty good time, I'd say.

She's had three lessons now. First one was more introduction. They learned the different body parts of a horse. That ponies were smaller than horses, but could still come in various sizes. Diffent parts of the equipment needed. What a horses needed to be healthy and happy... Things like that, but on a very simple level. The kids where between 4-6 years old. Alexandra is just 5 years old, but she was totally excited and listened carefully to her teacher!

The last two classes she's been on a horse. Last time with a saddle on and this time no saddle. She's been doing great! And the smile on her face first time she sat on a horse was PRICELESS!!!

She's so so so happy to take riding lessons! She really does love it and talks about it a lot! Sounds like she's learning things already and corrects me and Peting if we use the wrong word for something. (Already?) I'm so happy we were in a position were we could give her the chance to really explore this interest she has in horses. And the riding school we've found have been really wonderful so far. :-)

So even though the stress-factor at work is... a bit insane, life is still pretty good, I'd say. :-)

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.
Wow... I am really getting back into this LJ-thing, aren't I? It just feels really damn GOOD! :-D Like I'm coming home. Which, you know... It basically is. *checks* My first entry was posted in December of 2003. Damn... o.O Could say I've spent a significant part of my time here.

Work has been good today. REALLY lazy, so I got in some fanfic reading in the midst of it. :-) Well, not 'normal' fanfic reading. I did, what I call it, my 'commenting-thing'. Where I read through a fanfic before it's finished or made official and see what makes sense and what makes no sense etc. Can't be a proper beta, because well... swedish. Plus I suck at grammar in my own language, so having me as a proper beta would just be a disaster waiting to happen. *LOL* Apparently this 'commenting-thing' is popular, since I have done it for three writers. Currently "only" doing it for two. :-) It's A LOT of fun though, or I wouldn't be doing it.

Had some really cute encounters with kids/teens at the school today. :-) I mean, I know this is one (of two) of the most troublesome schools in the city, but that doesn't mean that ALL kids are hooligans. There's some seriously AWESOME kids in this school, from ALL OVER the world. And that is pretty neat. And the best part of this job, to be quite honest. I learn SO MUCH! Also, both headmasters are very pleased with what I've done so far. And rumors has it that my predecessor/previous eccentric colleague won't be coming back. Which means, this library will be mine. *SQUEEE!!!* :-D

Future is looking fucking bright, if you ask me. ;-)

And to finish this post off, as I do from time to time, I'll share stuff I've found online.

First off I give you this. From this Christmas somewhere in the US. I'm always amazed at how much time US-people spend on the light on their houses. This was pretty cool though, and I know my kid would have peed herself with joy over this, the fangirl that she is. :-D

Frozen lights blinking in time with Let It Go...

This I found hilarious. I live in a straight relationship as it were, so couldn't even imagine. How on earth can people actually say this? It's just... nuts.

Things people ask gay dads... )

On a bit more somber note, this is both disturbing and interesting all in the same time. Because really, only women is beaten, right? Wrong...

Domestic abuse advert Mankind )

This on the other hand made me laugh. All big hearty belly laugh, as it were. :-D And perfect for International Woman's Day!

Revealing dress -lady and old almost dead -lady on the tram... )

Talking off International Woman's day... I give you some kick ass strong women in comics. And I ain't talking super hero comics. I'm talking Elfquest, best comic ever made. And this article tells you just why you should read it... if nothing else for the awesomeness that is the female characters in said comic.

To hunt, to howl, to live free - Heather Johannsen on the powerful women of Elfquest

And... Now I need to go to bed. New day to strangel hooligan kids tomorrow. ;-)

Oh! And lastly, those coming over from 'that meme'... WELCOME! I'll do an about my post tomorrow! PROMISE! :-D Glad to have you here!

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

Style Credit